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So it took a rather ambitious travel schedule over the first weekend of 2018 for me to finally realize what my New Year’s Resolution should be.

Here’s a recap of my Saturday and Sunday: I took a 9 am train to Kingston, Rhode Island. From there, I Uber’d 20 minutes over to Newport. A coffee and four mile run later, I met some co-workers at an Irish pub around the corner from our hotel. After drinking two Bloody Marys and watching a horrendous Syracuse basketball loss to Notre Dame, I returned to my room and showered before pre-gaming and heading downstairs to our holiday party.

I hadn’t slept much on Thursday or Friday night and this combined with my early wake-up call on Sunday prompted me to retire from the festivities before midnight. But I was up at 6:30 am the following morning to pack, change and hail another Uber en route to the train station. This Amtrak left at 7:40 am and was supposed to arrive in Philadelphia at 12:30.

The train ran 50 minutes late; by the time I checked my bags at the station, called another Uber and arrived at Wells Fargo Center it was the first intermission. My colleague Dan and his son Justin are diehard Flyers fans and I had never been to a game in Philly. The Sabres were in town and it was a Sunday so we figured this was the perfect opportunity. Dan bought seats three rows from the ice; easily the closest I’ve ever sat for a NHL game. The vantage point definitely gives you a new appreciation for the sport. And the atmosphere in the arena along with the amenities of the venue really made for a cool experience. That said, I would probably only return on one condition.

See, I was rooting for the visiting team and of course I was dressed in full Buffalo gear: my Bills sideline knit hat (don’t get me started) and my Jack Eichel Sabres sweater. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that every single person, starting with the security at the entrance, busted my stones. There were bartenders who half-jokingly refused to serve me, dirty looks from fans and even one guy who went as far as to run in to me while I was walking along the concourse, knocking my Bloody Mary on to the floor in the process.

The game didn’t go much better; the Sabres took an early 1-0 lead but eventually lost 4-1. We returned to Dan’s car with enough time to listen to the end of the Bills playoff game (surprise, another loss!) and then drove to South Street. It was there that I ate my sorrows away with a Jim’s peppersteak while also taking a trip down memory lane, fondly recalling all of the shows I covered at TLA.

I was back in my apartment by around 8 pm and I have to say, despite all of the terrible outcomes with my sports teams, I was in a great mood. I saw the beautiful coastline in Newport and the skyline of Philadelphia and New York, not to mention the spectacular sunrise and sunset witnessed in Southern New England. I ate lobster rolls in Rhode Island and cheesesteaks in Philly. I was surrounded by awesome friends the entire weekend.

I need more weekends like that. The goal for 2018, on a personal level, is to worry less about possessions and focus more on experiences. I truly believe if I can surround myself with great people and eat some fantastic food along the way, I’m in store for an unforgettable year.

And yunno what? If a Bloody Mary or two gets spilled along the way, so be it.

A lot of things felt different about my latest trip out to Los Angeles for The 2017 American Music Awards. I think a lot of that was rooted back in New York; I didn’t book my flight until about two weeks out and it was my first cross-country trek since I packed up and moved downtown in to my new apartment. The move, along with a change in schedule at work and my marathon training/completion have all hindered me from settling in to a new routine. That’s fine; I am flexible and can work around life events. But it doesn’t mean it comes easy; especially relative to my prior routine.

For example: my dry cleaners and wash-and-fold also handle my alterations. Most of their services could be turned around in 24 hours and they are located a block away from my old apartment on the route I’d walk to take the subway to-and-from the studio. The woman who cuts my hair is also still on the Upper West Side and was a five minute cab ride from my prior place.

I now live 30-40 minutes away from both. Grocery shopping? Still haven’t found a one-stop-shop in the hood. Cobbler or computer repair technician? Probably will still go to my old stomping grounds uptown for those.

Before I moved, I had trip preparation down to a science; it actually got to the point where my getaway day (24 hours before my flight) because rather relaxing because I was able to accomplish every errand necessary the prior weekend. On this trip, my getaway day was jam-packed and there were at least two or three tasks I didn’t complete.

When I landed in LA, I had to drop off dry cleaning (which I forgot to pickup), shop for clothes and buy a wireless keyboard from Target because my laptop’s enter button is broken (need to find a new computer guy). Then, I attempted to compensate for the craziness of the lead-in to the long weekend by not going out as much during my trip. The positive from this is that I was able to both publish all of the content I hoped for while also getting a little bit of sleep; the negative is that socializing with colleagues can be one of the more important and enjoyable parts of the experience.

Friday and Saturday went as planned with one caveat: I feel like for whatever reason, perhaps one aforementioned, I was focused more on the content and my radio show than myself. For example, I don’t think I stressed as much about my wardrobe this time around. I also never really went out of my way to get good photos of me on each day in front of the step-and-repeat. But I encountered another curveball on Sunday: my job responsibilities changed. For the first time in my five years of covering the AMAs, I did not have a red carpet or one-on-one room assignment. Heck, I didn’t even have a credential; rather a VIP ticket in the orchestra level of the Microsoft Theater. So I used my free time during the day to get a little more work done and check out my Buffalo Bills, who happened to be in town and playing the Los Angeles Chargers in StubHub Center.

Took me what, almost 10 years? But I finally figured it out. When I return home to visit family in Western New York for Christmas, I should stick around for about four nights.

Here was my issue in years past: I would only visit my parents back in Niagara Falls about three times a year. Also, I would usually end up with a ton of vacation to use before the end of the year otherwise it would be lost. So between not wanting to give up too much of my free days (I would inevitably lose some anyways) and falling victim to my mother’s guilt trip, I would stay home around Christmas for close to a week.

And by the sixth or seventh day, I would end up singing the same tune: next year, I can’t stay home for this long. I love my family but hanging out back in the house I grew up in just makes me a bit stir-crazy.

So this year I switched it up. First, I spread out my remaining vacation days over the final month-and-a-half of the year to ensure that I wouldn’t lose any. This also gave me a bunch of long weekends and quite frankly, one of my most enjoyable holiday seasons in recent memory. Then, I scheduled my trip to WNY around Christmas but made sure to just give myself enough time to see my family and attend an extra event or two, nothing more.

Mission accomplished. Saw all of my family plus a bunch of my friends, attended a few holiday parties, visited Orchard Park to watch my Bills lose to the Dolphins (don’t get me started) and drank a few Labatt Blue Lights in the process.

I have had a lot of great weekends as of late, as I’ve broken out the “#RalphieOTRA” hashtag and traveled to a number of different cities; many of which I visited for the first time in my life. This past weekend included one of those trips, along with a few experiences in the tri-state area that I won’t soon forget.

To get a proper feel for the three day stretch I had, we should probably rewind to Friday. The details are covered in this Facebook post, but here are some of the highlights courtesy of my Instagram and Twitter.

I hosted the Devils Opening Night Red Carpet at the team’s Fan Fest outside of Prudential Center. Big thanks to the Devils along with Kerry and the PruCenter PR Team for the invite and hospitality.

I also was invited by my friends at the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and Lennon Bus to the “Imagine Party,” celebrating John’s 75th birthday. Here’s me, VP of U.S. Tours and Promotions Matthew Reich and his band, the Command Sisters.

After about three hours of sleep, I hopped on a plane headed back to the greatest city in the world, but left with some fond memories of Nashville. Last #RalphieOTRA trip for a while is next weekend – Syracuse!

and of course, tim russert was the pride of wny, and the authority on all things of which he spoke. western new yorkers essentially held russert in such high regards for the same reasons that most of america did: he embodied the blue collar mentality that his beloved father, “big russ”, taught him while growing up in south buffalo. russert exhibited this in a number of different fashions – his unparrelled preparation when analysing campaign results or grilling politicians on meet the press, the lack of “gimmick” when on camera – he kept it real and kept it simple.

also, it seems russert’s compassion and charity matched his intellect. you certainly know the type of legacy a man left behind when friends, foes, and collegues alike gather on national tv in the immediate aftermath of his death to credit not only russert the analyst, the journalist – but the father, son, and husband.

as a member of the media and a western new yorker, the passing of tim russert certainly struck a number of cords with me. last night when i took to the air here in northeast pa, i spoke briefly about the tragedy, but mentioned how it certainly put things in perspective – on personal and professional levels.

i have “formal training” in journalism – whatever that means these days to you. of course, i attended the newhouse school of public communications, and dual majored at syracuse university in broadcast journalism and marketing. so for me personally, to see a guy without a communications degree succeed to the level that russert did in television, is a sign that russert really, really knew his stuff. as we’ve learned within’ the past 24 hours, apparently no one did their homework as well as russert.

but added to his accomplishments in television are his contributions to family life in america. his two best selling books certainly brought a new dimension and definition to the father-son relationship in this country. it brings about more sorrow that russert died right before father’s day, after celebrating his son luke’s graduation from boston college.

then again, maybe that’s the way the man above planned it – so we could all remember and celebrate the legacy of tim russert throughout this father’s day weekend. although i know my fellow western new yorkers and many more throughout the country will remember russert for a long time to come, whether we are sharing a special moment with dad or tuning in to political coverage of an election.

or maybe for us buffalonians, cheering on our beloved bills – hoping that tim is talking to the big man about maybe delivering a big win.

and of course, tim russert was the pride of wny, and the authority on all things of which he spoke. western new yorkers essentially held russert in such high regards for the same reasons that most of america did: he embodied the blue collar mentality that his beloved father, “big russ”, taught him while growing up in south buffalo. russert exhibited this in a number of different fashions – his unparrelled preparation when analysing campaign results or grilling politicians on meet the press, the lack of “gimmick” when on camera – he kept it real and kept it simple.

also, it seems russert’s compassion and charity matched his intellect. you certainly know the type of legacy a man left behind when friends, foes, and collegues alike gather on national tv in the immediate aftermath of his death to credit not only russert the analyst, the journalist – but the father, son, and husband.

as a member of the media and a western new yorker, the passing of tim russert certainly struck a number of cords with me. last night when i took to the air here in northeast pa, i spoke briefly about the tragedy, but mentioned how it certainly put things in perspective – on personal and professional levels.

i have “formal training” in journalism – whatever that means these days to you. of course, i attended the newhouse school of public communications, and dual majored at syracuse university in broadcast journalism and marketing. so for me personally, to see a guy without a communications degree succeed to the level that russert did in television, is a sign that russert really, really knew his stuff. as we’ve learned within’ the past 24 hours, apparently no one did their homework as well as russert.

but added to his accomplishments in television are his contributions to family life in america. his two best selling books certainly brought a new dimension and definition to the father-son relationship in this country. it brings about more sorrow that russert died right before father’s day, after celebrating his son luke’s graduation from boston college.

then again, maybe that’s the way the man above planned it – so we could all remember and celebrate the legacy of tim russert throughout this father’s day weekend. although i know my fellow western new yorkers and many more throughout the country will remember russert for a long time to come, whether we are sharing a special moment with dad or tuning in to political coverage of an election.

or maybe for us buffalonians, cheering on our beloved bills – hoping that tim is talking to the big man about maybe delivering a big win.

no, the title isn’t a new breakfast sandwich at sheetz, although my schmagel this morning was deelish. just feels like a really lazy monday here in the nepa.

i went to bed a little after 6 am this morning, and woke up before 4 pm. weird doesn’t even begin to explain my internal clock and sleeping patterns. but despite the amount of sleep i received, i still feel a little groggy at 6:52. a lack of caffeine could be the issue, and i’ll fix that during my first hour of the show with a trip to the coffee machine outside the studio.

of course, many believe monday is simply an extension of the weekend. the past couple days have been spent eating in, drinking out, and napping throughout the day. the gf came to wilkes barre to visit – and after the week each of us had – we decided to just take it easy and enjoy the finer things in life… rest, light beer, red robin burgers, januzzi’s pizza, and a mix of boston college, yankees, and bills games on the television.

no, the title isn’t a new breakfast sandwich at sheetz, although my schmagel this morning was deelish. just feels like a really lazy monday here in the nepa.

i went to bed a little after 6 am this morning, and woke up before 4 pm. weird doesn’t even begin to explain my internal clock and sleeping patterns. but despite the amount of sleep i received, i still feel a little groggy at 6:52. a lack of caffeine could be the issue, and i’ll fix that during my first hour of the show with a trip to the coffee machine outside the studio.

of course, many believe monday is simply an extension of the weekend. the past couple days have been spent eating in, drinking out, and napping throughout the day. the gf came to wilkes barre to visit – and after the week each of us had – we decided to just take it easy and enjoy the finer things in life… rest, light beer, red robin burgers, januzzi’s pizza, and a mix of boston college, yankees, and bills games on the television.